Twice in a Lifetime
by Nunda
Summary: [Completed] Through Sam, Casey had the once in a lifetime true love. Derek had a once in a lifetime best friend. Through each other, they find some things just come twice in a lifetime.Fixed the link at the end
1. Pinch Me

**Twice In a Lifetime**

by Nunda

Disclaimer: Are we still doing these? Okay, here it goes: I do NOT own Life With Derek or else I wouldn't be writing FANFICTION about it. (Reviews and such are appreciated). Also, lyrics used in this chapter are from "Pinch Me" by the Barenaked Ladies.

/A.N./ Whatever I don't know about the show, I made up. Hence, Sam's last name is now Marshall and his ma and pa are Ann and John respectively.

.oO00Oo.

Derek Venturi watched out the windowsill as tiny flakes of snow drifted down to the white-covered ground. He wished he could just drift through life without a care in the world and forget the recent events in his life.

"_Come on, Derek, Let's go!" George Venturi eagerly urged his five-year old son to get his gear in the family station wagon._

"_I'm coming, Dad," Derek dragged his duffel bag behind him._

"_Let me get that for you." George grabbed the bag and shoved it into the station wagon._

"_Goodbye, honey." Abby reached for her son, but he ducked away, and quickly glanced around to make sure no one had seen his mother almost kiss him._

_George just smiled and shrugged at Abby as if to say, boys will be boys. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and then left to take Derek to peewee hockey try-outs._

_There were about 25 five- and six-year old boys eagerly waiting with their dads._

"_You sit here." George pointed to a bench. "I'm going to go talk to the coach and see what I need to do."_

_Derek impatiently sat down next to a blonde-headed boy who immediately began a conversation with him._

"_My name's Sam, what's yours?" He asked._

"_Derek." He said. _

"_Do you want to be friends?" Sam asked earnestly._

_Derek looked around. He didn't recognize anyone else except for Lanny Brown from his kindergarten class. He wasn't exactly his favorite person._

"_Sure." Derek answered Sam. Little did he know then that Sam would become his _best _friend for over the next ten years._

"Come on, Derek." George said while knocking lightly on his son's doorframe. "It's time to go, son."

Derek got up and quickly swiped at his eyes. He followed his dad downstairs to the garage and got into the family van. Casey was sitting by the window, staring intently at the garage wall. Casey- Derek had almost forgotten about her. He could not possibly look her in the eyes right now. He took a seat behind Casey and laid his head back with his eyes closed.

It was just a short drive, but to Derek it seemed like an impeccably long journey. Alpine Street Presbyterian Church was small and set up on a hill. Derek sighed; the last time he had been at church was when George and Nora got married. Clutching the CD and a small stack of index cards, Derek hurried into the church.

"Derek, thank you for coming." Mr. Marshall said, and then upon seeing the CD in his hand added, "The music coordinator is in the second door on the right down that hallway."

"Thank you." Derek said solemnly. He walked toward the open doorway and lightly rapped on the door.

"Come on in." He heard the voice say.

"I want you to play this for me." He said thrusting the disc towards the older man in corduroy pants and a brown button-down shirt. "It's not typical funeral music, but he'd understand it."

"That's all that counts, man." He said somberly.

Derek made his way into the sanctuary and sat with his family. He averted his eyes from looking at the casket with the cold, lifeless body encased in it. He glanced at Casey but immediately stared down at his hands. He was not ready to see her face yet. He would completely lose it, he knew for sure, if he seen her crushed expression. He felt a comforting hand on his back and looked gratefully up at Nora.

Mr. and Mrs. Marshall took a seat in the pew in front of Derek and he immediately felt sorrow for them. Mrs. Marshall sat with her eyes glued to the front, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Mr. Marshall wrapped an arm tightly around his wife.

Reverend McNeil walked to the front of the front of the sanctuary and stood behind the podium, glancing lovingly on the parishioners gathered to celebrate a young life cut too short.

"First, " He started, "Let us pray. Great and merciful Father in Heaven…"

"_I got you Derek! You're dead!" Eleven-year old Sam shot at Derek with his Super Soaker._

"_Nu-uh." Derek said defiantly. "I had my fingers crossed so it doesn't count."_

"_What?" Sam asked incredulously. He dropped his gun down to his side. "It does too count."_

"_No, but this does." Derek said and then proceeded to soak Sam with his own oversized water gun. _

"_Hey, here comes Edwin." Derek said, immediately calling a truce. "Let's get him!"_

"_Hey, let's hide under there." Sam suggested._

"_Under where?" Derek said looking around. Sam started laughing uncontrollably. Finally Derek realized what he said._

"_I just made you say underwear!" Sam sang._

_Their plans of sneak attacking little Edwin was ruined as the two broke out into song by their favorite band, Barenaked Ladies. From that day on, it became an inside joke between the guys to try different ways to get the other say 'underwear'. Immature? Yes, but it was a guy thing._

"…in Jesus' name, Amen." Reverend McNeil concluded his prayer. "It was a great honor to know Samuel Andrew Marshall. His family started coming to this church when he was just a little tyke. He will be greatly missed by this church and the community. Sam was a quiet young man but he possessed manners and kindness, a rare gem for someone of his young age thanks to his parents John and Ann. I just want to share a passage with you if I may, before friends and loved ones get up to speak and play songs in honor of Sam. Everyone turn to Philippians 3:20-21. 'For our citizenship is in heaven…' "

Derek sat numbly, staring straight ahead. He couldn't focus on what the reverend was saying until he heard his own name.

"Derek Venturi…" He heard the reverend's kind voice. "Would you like to say something about Sam now?"

Derek felt Nora and his dad each squeeze his arm for support. He clutched the index cards in his hands as he walked toward the front, his eyes locked onto the closed casket and he felt his stomach churn. It didn't seem right to him that Sam was in there with the lid closed. He wouldn't be able to breath. Derek felt his throat close up and suddenly he felt as if he couldn't breathe as if he were the one locked up in the casket. Derek grabbed onto each side of the podium to hold himself up. He glanced overhead at the music coordinator and nodded to him. He would let the music speak for him for the time being- until he found his voice.

_It's the perfect time of year_

_Somewhere far away from here_

_I feel fine enough I guess_

_Considering everything's a mess…_

Derek cleared his throat and leaned into the microphone.

"A few summers ago, Sam and I decided this was our favorite song. It reminded us of being on summer break and playing with water guns and in Edwin's sprinkler. In our innocence, we didn't realize the darker undertones of this song." He looked up to see Mrs. Marshall nodding at him and smiling. She knew personally how the boys loved to play in the water- tracking it all through her house, even.

…_It's the perfect time of day_

_To throw all your cares away_

_Put the sprinkler on the lawn_

_And run through with my gym shorts on_

_Take a drink right from the hose_

_And change into some drier clothes_

_Climb the stairs up to my room_

_Sleep away the afternoon…_

Derek glanced down at his index cards. "I uh, planned a whole boring speech but suddenly these cards don't matter anymore." He tossed the cards to the side. "Who was Sam Marshall? He was more than a best friend- he was like a brother to me. In fact, if he wasn't at my place, I was at his. Right now, if he could see all this, he'd be so embarrassed. He never liked being in the spotlight- he left that to me."

Derek looked up and caught a glimpse of Casey; head down and with her hands over her face. Emily, trusty best friend, had her arms wrapped tightly her. He felt the lump in his throat rise. He cleared his throat and began again.

"That's just the way Sam was- easy-going and laid-back. He was very reliable. Although we got into a few fights over the years as best friends do, he was always there for me. Sam wouldn't want us to cry and to feel sad. He'd want us to remember the happy times with him. Like the time he won that ridiculous joker hat at the carnival and didn't take it off for weeks."

Derek was glad to hear a soft chuckle from the audience.

"Or the time Dad when he filled your shoes full of Jell-O. Sam loved pranks. And Casey. He loved Casey. I made fun of him for being such a sap but the truth is that I was jealous that he'd found true love and I hadn't. And John and Ann when other people at school were griping and complaining about their parents Sam always mentioned that he was really lucky to have you guys as parents. I will miss you Sam, my brother."

…_On an evening such as this_

_It's hard to tell if I exist_

_If I packed a packed a car and leave this town_

_Who'll notice that I'm not around_

_I could hide out under there_

_I just made you say 'underwear'_

_I could leave but I'll just stay_

_All my stuff's here anyway…_

With that final statement, Derek finished his speech. He returned to his seat between Nora and his dad. Nora enveloped him into a warm hug.

"That was a great tribute, honey." She whispered. "Sam would've loved it."

"Good job, son." George added while patting his back. George wasn't as good with words as Nora was.

Casey looked up at him with a newfound respect. She was glad he admitted to being jealous over hers and Sam's true love. It explained a lot of his behavior towards them.

_Pinch me_

_Pinch me_

'_Cause I'm still asleep_

_Please God tell me_

_That I'm still asleep…_


	2. Radios in Heaven

**Twice in a Lifetime**

Chapter Two

By Nunda

Disclaimer: It's fanfiction. (surprise) Lyrics used are from Plain White T's _Radios in Heaven._

/A.N./ First of all, thank you Inulover4eva, Crazy Giant Elf Fairy, Lavalampgirl, D.A. Gray and Ghostwriter! This is my first uploaded LWD fic (not my first _written_ one though) and I really appreciate your input!

.oO00Oo.

_Do they have radios in Heaven?_

_I hope they do_

'_Cause they're playing my song on the radio_

_And I'm singing it to you_

Her eyes were full of understanding and compassion and he'd never taken the time to notice before. She sat at the edge of his bed, for once, at a loss for words.

"Can I get you anything?" She asked softly. A single brown curl fell in her face. She pushed it back behind her ear.

"Thanks, Emily." Derek said. "But I think I'm just going to take a nap now."

She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

"Goodnight, then." She whispered and shut his door quietly after leaving his room.

Derek just rolled over in bed, pulling the covers tightly around him. He felt as if he were in another dimension or a dream. Maybe if he just slept long enough, he'd wake up from whatever this world was that he found himself in.

Emily entered Casey's room without even knocking.

"Hey sweetie." Emily said sitting cross-legged in the floor next to Casey.

Casey was busy reorganizing her CD collection. She was madly pulling CDs out and shoving them back in a different spot.

"In my old place, I never had to reorganize my CDs. They always stayed in perfect alphabetical order." She said angrily. "Lizzie knew the importance of putting it back in the right spot if she borrowed one. Of course she always asked my permission. Then we move here and _Derek_ comes along. He's always borrowing my stuff and messing things up."

Emily knew that Casey was just trying to keep busy and keep things normal by ranting about Derek. She also knew that this little rant had nothing to do with Derek at all.

"A girl cannot even think clearly with this kind of mess in here!" Casey said pulling out more CDs and causing them to crash to the floor. Casey slumped down on the floor and buried her face in her hands. Emily jumped up and immediately began comforting her friend.

"Why did he have to die, Em?" She cried into her shoulder. "What did I do to deserve this? What did _he _do to deserve this?"

"Shh, shh, shh." Emily whispered. "I will help you through this."

Nora walked in the room and said, "Casey, you have a visitor here. It's Paul."

Paul was sitting at the dining room table, waiting on her. She sat across from him and placed her intertwined hands on the table in front of her.

"I don't normally do house calls." Paul said. "But I knew I had to make an exception for my favorite student."

He smiled slightly at her but the smile immediately faded when he saw the forlorn look on her face.

"I wanted to talk to you first alone, but I would like to talk to you and Derek together if that would be all right with you, Casey." He said.

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Listen, Casey," Paul began as he leaned into the table, "I did not come here today to tell you that everything will be fine because, quite frankly, it won't. I know that you loved Sam and there will be a part of him in your heart always. It's been said that you never get over your first love and I have to agree. But because Sam died it makes it especially difficult for you. The good news is you _will_ begin to feel better. You _will_ fall in love again and that is okay, Casey."

Casey nodded her head just to let him know that she was listening to him but she didn't necessarily agree.

"_Hey." Sam said to Casey who was sitting at the barstool in the kitchen. "Derek sent me down here for sodas."_

_He opened the refrigerator and grabbed two cans._

"_Would you like one?" Sam said looking up at her from the refrigerator door._

"_Oh, no thanks." Casey said looking up from her homework and pointed to the glass in front of her. "I'm drinking orange juice."_

"_Oh. Right." He said while shutting the refrigerator door. "Sorry, I didn't see it there."_

"_Thanks for the offer." Casey said smiling. How did someone like Derek become friends with someone as sweet and understanding as Sam? Casey's mind could not comprehend it._

"_I like your sweater." He said a little quieter as if Derek, upstairs, might hear, "It really matches your eyes."_

_And with that comment, he disappeared back upstairs to be further tainted by Derek's bad behavior. He left Casey with a wide, goofy grin on her face that no matter how hard she had tried, she couldn't get it to go away._

Derek bounded down the stairs taking two at a time. He wanted to get this meeting thing with Paul over with. There's no way he was going to talk to this quack. He didn't need to nor did he want to talk to this man.

"Derek, I'm so glad you decided to join us." Paul said as Derek took a seat next to Casey. "Casey and I were just discussing how it's okay to feel really sad right now. One day you'll start to notice that even though you still miss Sam, you won't be as sad as you are right now."

Derek threw a sidelong glance at Casey. Was this guy for real?

"Is there anything you'd like to add to the discussion Derek?"

"No." Derek said, irked. He leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head.

"Okay, and that's just fine." Paul said soothingly. "Casey would you like to say anything to Derek?"

Casey looked Derek over. "Sure, I've got a few things. Why did you always try and sabotage mine and Sam's relationship? Why couldn't you just let us be together without always trying to manipulate the relationship? Now he's gone and I won't ever get to be with him again!"

Casey slid her chair back, jumped up, and ran to her room.

"Nice work." Derek said pointedly to Paul before he left to his own room.

"They'll come around." Nora said to Paul as she and George walked him to the door.

"Trust me, I completely understand." Paul slid his jacket on and pulled it tightly around him. "You have my home and office number if you ever need me."

"Thank you, Paul." George said, wrapping an arm around Nora's waist.

Upstairs, Edwin knocked on Derek's bedroom door. Derek threw the door open.

"Lizzie and I feel you should go talk to Casey, dude." He said.

"You and Lizzie?" Derek asked while looking down the hallway for the younger version of Casey herself. She was nowhere to be found. Probably in Casey's room right now trying to get her to talk with Derek.

Edwin pushed his way in through the door. "You see, Derek, Casey's really vulnerable right now and she needs you to be nice to her."

"First of all, Ed, since when do you use big words like 'vulnerable'? Second of all, I will not go talk to her no matter who put you up to coming in here."

Derek pushed his little brother out of the room and slammed the door shut. That was when he heard the music that made him stop.

_You left before I had a chance to say goodbye  
But that's the way life usually is  
It just passes you by  
But you can't hold on to regrets  
And you can't look back  
So I'll just be thankful for the times that I had with you  
I hope I'm just like you_

Derek looked up to the ceiling, silently cursing himself for being so soft. The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of Casey's bedroom door, waiting to be let in.

"Derek if you've come here to yell at me then just forget it. I'm sorry for what I said downstairs." Casey said, leaning against the doorframe.

For whatever reason, a moment of insanity, the song playing on Casey's computer, the sullen look on her face, or the fact that Derek couldn't stand seeing a girl cry, but he felt compelled to embrace Casey. Feeling the warm, wet tears on his shoulder, he knew he'd made the right decision.


	3. Sullen Girl

**Twice in a Lifetime**

Chapter Three

by Nunda

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction by a FAN. Henceforth, fanfiction. Lyrics used are from Fiona Apple's, "Sullen Girl".

/A.N./ Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Sorry for the long update, I got side-tracked.

_Days like this I don't know what to do with myself_

_All day and all night_

_I wander the halls along the walls and under my breath_

_I say to myself I need fuel_

_To take flight_

_And there's too much going on_

_But it's calm, under the blue of my oblivion_

_Under the waves in the blue of my oblivion_

.oO00Oo.

_Casey settled into the couch with her favorite book_, _White Oleander. She savored the quietness of the house. Rare was the opportunity that she had the house all to herself. Derek was at hockey practice, thank goodness. The rest of the family went with George to drop Edwin and Marti off at their mother Abby's house and pick up take-out on their way home._

_Casey was getting to the part in the book where Astrid was being taken away by the children's welfare when the phone rang. Casey rolled her eyes. She knew the quietness was too good to be true. _

"_Hello?" She said when picking up the phone._

"_Casey? Where's dad?" It was Derek. Casey was a little caught off guard by the tone of his voice. He sounded frightened._

"_He's still at your mom's, I guess." Casey said. "What's wrong?"_

"_Nothing. I need to talk to Dad. The cell's going straight to voicemail. I was just hoping he was home by now." Derek said. Something clenched on Casey's stomach. Derek was lying. She knew Derek well enough now that he never allowed anyone to know when he was scared. It was his voice that gave him away._

"_Derek, tell me what's wrong." Casey demanded._

_Dammit, Derek thought to himself, she was too perceptive of a person to withhold the truth from._

"_Casey, it's Sam." He said. "He collapsed at practice today."_

_The book in Casey's hand tumbled to the ground and Casey sunk back into the couch._

"_Don't worry, though." He said trying to sound more optimistic. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Just tell Dad that I'm at the hospital now. See if the Davises can bring you down here, Casey." _

_Casey pressed the off button on the phone and numbly walked over to Emily's house. What could make a healthy young boy collapse at hockey practice? He must be dehydrated Casey convinced herself. Just a little fluids at the hospital and he'd be on his way._

Brushing out her wet, brown hair, Casey sat at her vanity in her bedroom. Lizzie, almost transfixed, watched her older sister.

"Are you really going to school, tomorrow?" She asked Casey.

"Yes, of course." Casey said as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "It's the first day back from winter break."

"Mom said you didn't have to go back yet." Lizzie insisted.

"Lizzie," Casey was starting to get impatient, "I haven't missed a day of school since kindergarten. I don't plan on becoming a delinquent now."

Casey put her brush down on the table and began rubbing in a moisturizing lotion on her face. Winters in Canada tended to dry out her skin.

Standing up, Lizzie planted a kiss on Casey's head.

"Sorry. I'm off to bed now."

Casey continued with her nightly beauty regimen by towel-drying her hair.

"'Night, Liz." She said.

_B-cells, T-cells, platelets, anemia- words that were for the most part, unfamiliar with Casey swam around in her head as she sat in the waiting room at the hospital. She gripped tightly onto Emily's arm, listening to Mrs. Marshall explain to Casey that her one true love had a terminal form of cancer._

"_He's been going through chemo." Mrs. Marshall said. "We really thought we had it beat this time. Please understand, kids, that Sam didn't want to worry you with his condition and is why he didn't tell you."_

_Casey nodded her head, with tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. The reality of the situation still hadn't sunk in yet. She glanced at Derek. He was sitting next to her in the black vinyl chair, gripping on the armrests so tight his knuckles were bone-white. He looked pissed, staring into space._

"_How long has he known?" Emily asked, literally becoming Casey's voice._

"_We found out last year during a routine physical. They didn't want him to play hockey anymore but Sammy wouldn't listen. He wanted to be as normal as possible." Mrs. Marshall looked down at her hands, studying the diamond ring on her left hand. "His father and I did so much to protect him when he was small and now this…this is just out of our hands."_

_Mr. Marshall stepped out of a door down the hall and said, "He's ready to see someone now. One at a time."_

_Mrs. Marshall looked up at Casey, "You go ahead, honey."_

_Casey stood up, feeling faint. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she walked down the hall. She pushed the heavy door to Sam's room open almost afraid of what she'd see. Seeing him hooked up to the IV and lying in the huge hospital bed was almost unbearable._

"_Sam…" Casey took his hand that didn't have the IV running in it. _

"Just thought I'd let you know," Derek said, walking by Casey's room, "I'm driving to school tomorrow so if you want a ride, I'll take you."

Casey had almost forgotten that Derek had got his driver's license before Sam died. She silently cursed the gods remembering they had all made plans to cruise around town once Sam got well enough to go outside.

"Thanks." Casey told Derek, who was still waiting by her door. He nodded and returned to his room.

_And there's too much going on_

_But, it's calm under the waves, _

_In the blue of my oblivion_

Casey was glad to see the school functioning as normally as when she left it. Although most people gave her a sympathetic look only a few voiced their condolences to her. In a small town like this everyone knew everything that happened, even over winter break. Emily walked along beside her through the halls. Casey grabbed Emily's arm when she saw Sam's locker. Several of the students left flowers, cards and teddy bears on and around his locker.

"How sweet." Casey said softly as she read over some of the cards and ran her fingers across the written words of condolences. Her throat swelled up and for the hundredth time since Sam's death, Casey felt as if she was choking.

"_Hey, Case." Sam said as Casey took his hand. "I'm really sorr-"_

"_Shh." Casey cut him off. "Don't apologize for anything."_

_She leaned across the bed, hugging him close to her. The scent of his aftershave still lingered on his skin and Casey inhaled it, trying to remember that smell forever._

"_I wanted to tell you…"Sam trailed off._

"_Let's don't talk about that now." Casey said. "Let's just talk about when you get out of here. I've found the perfect dress for the Valentine's Dance. I also found you a matching tie to go with it."  
_

"_Of course." Sam said with a smile. Leave it to Casey to have already have an event planned four months before it's actually to occur. That's what he loved about her._

_Tears glistened in her eyes as she described the dress to him in full detail._

"Hey Casey," Paul stopped Casey in the hall when she was on her way to homeroom. "My door's always open. You know that."

Casey nodded and thanked him then ducked into her homeroom. Derek, sitting in the back row, caught her eye as she sat down in her normal seat up front. More girls than usual surrounded his desk. Casey instantly hated them. Those pathetic bimbos were trying to cash in on Derek's grief for a date. She rolled her eyes and pulled out her notebook and began writing. She didn't realize it at first, but she was writing a letter to Sam. She ripped the page out and tore it into tiny pieces. Dumping the confetti in the trashcan, she caught Derek's eye again. He looked at her quizzically for a moment and then turned his attention back to his new legion of girls.

Emily was waiting on her after homeroom.

"Come on, girl." Emily said. "I'll walk with you to Biology."

They linked arms and walked to the biology lab. This time Casey ignored all the well-wishers. She didn't want to be grieving. She wanted Sam to be alive. For the time being, she decided she was just going to ignore the fact that he was dead just to ignore the pain. It was excruciating remembering every second of everyday that he was not coming back. It was at that moment that Casey MacDonald fell into her own oblivion.

_But, it's calm under the waves, _

_In the blue of my oblivion…_


	4. Fix You

**Twice in a Lifetime**

Chapter Four

by Nunda

Disclaimer: FAN fiction based on a TV show that I do not own. Lyrics from "Fix You" by Coldplay.

/A.N./ Thanks to all the reviews. Keep them coming!

_When you try your best, but you don't succeed_

_When you get what you want, but not what you need_

_When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep_

_Stuck in reverse_

_When the tears come streaming down your face_

_When you lose something you can't replace_

_When you love someone, but it goes to waste_

_Could it be worse?_

.oO00Oo.

"Hey Dad," Derek approached the basement bedroom with caution the next Saturday afternoon. "I'm going out, OK?"

Derek already had the keys in hand and started back up the stairs.

"Derek." George Venturi called his son back in the room. Saturday mornings George and Nora liked to lie in bed all morning and pick apart the newspaper.

"Yeah, Dad?" Derek stood in the doorway.

"Where are you going?" George handed his section of the paper to Nora.

"There's a comedy-fest at the cinema. I thought it might be a good release to laugh a little."

"Oh, of course." George said suddenly. "Go ahead."

Derek was finding out quickly that his parents pretty much would let him do anything and go anywhere.

"Hey Derek." Nora said in a tone that Derek knew what was coming next. "Why don't you take Casey with you?"

Derek closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She was part of the reason he wanted to go to the movies. To get away from the pain of losing his best friend meant to get away from her as well. He looked up at Nora's pleading eyes and nodded his head. It wouldn't hurt to ask her, he thought. She'd just say no anyway.

.o.

"Let me just get my coat." Casey said as she closed her school books and scrimmaged around her unusually messy room for her coat.

Derek forced a slight smile. He expected Casey to say no. He hadn't expected her to accept and so quickly, too.

"Here it is." Casey said triumphantly, pulling the fuzzy pink coat on and zipping it up to her neck.

"Great. Let's go." Derek said taking note of her purple panda pajama bottoms and pink fuzzy jacket. Oh, well, it was a comedy-fest after all.

The theater was packed full of bored school kids tired of being forced inside due to the inclement weather. They pushed their way through the crowd towards the front counter. Derek found himself grabbing Casey's hand. He didn't feel like being lectured by George and Nora if he lost his step-sister at the theater, he told himself.

"Two tickets to the comedy-fest." Derek said to the ticket clerk. Sandler, Spade, and Farley were mere minutes away.

"_Hey, man." Sam was standing in Derek's doorway. Derek, who had been clenching and unclenching his fists, looked up, "Your dad let me in. Are you okay? You look pissed."_

"_My dad's marrying that woman I told you about." He said, irritably._

"_So? I thought you said Nora was nice?" Sam took a seat at Derek's desk._

"_Yeah, she is. But, I met her kids last night. Lizzie's all right for a little kid, but Casey…" Derek trailed off. "Casey's a bitch."_

_Derek immediately felt a slight twinge of guilt for saying it but their first encounter did not go well at all. She was stuck up and snobby and Derek did not like her at all. She cut him down at every chance she got and Derek Venturi was not used to being treated like that by any girl._

Derek glanced at the Casey he knew now as they settled into their seats in the dark theater. Her hair fell in her eyes and she didn't even bother to push it back.

"What movie is first?" Casey whispered loudly to Derek. He tore his attention away from that strand of hair that he wanted to push out of her eyes for her only because it annoyed him that it was in her eyes.

"It's supposed to be _Tommy Boy."_ He whispered back. "Then _Happy Gilmore_ and _Black Sheep._"

"Oh." Casey said, grabbing a handful of popcorn.

As if on cue, the first film began to play.

"_Here, Derek." George handed his son the phone._

"_Hello?" Derek said. It was Mrs. Marshall._

"_You and Casey might want to come to the hospital." She said, through tears. "The doctors say he might not make it through the night."_

_Derek felt the wind get knocked out of his chest. He was not ready for this. He wasn't ready to say goodbye._

"I'll be back." Casey squeezed past Derek to go to the restroom. He glanced up at her, and then unwillingly, his mind went back to that day.

"_Derek…" Sam talked in a voice just over a whisper. "I need to ask you a favor."_

"_Anything, man." Derek said, trying hard to keep his composure. His best friend was laying wilted in front of him—once a strong hockey player, now a skeletal version of his former self._

_Sam's voice got stronger, "I need you to watch over Casey for me. She's going to need someone when I'm gone."_

"_Sure." Derek said without hesitation. A promise was a promise._

"_I know you guys don't get along," Sam continued, "but I've always felt that if it were not for me, the two of you would be together."_

_Shocked, Derek said, "No way."_

_Derek sank into the vinyl seat next to Sam's bed._

"_Just take care of her for me. You're my best friend. She's a really great girl, Derek. You'll see it soon. Trust me on that."_

_For the next minute, there was a silence, and only the sound of Sam breathing through his oxygen mask could be heard. Derek realized that Sam had fallen asleep. He leaned over, pulled a medal out of his pocket and placed it in Sam's hand. Derek had earned the medal for being MVP this year in hockey. _

"Excuse, me. Sir? Your girlfriend's in the bathroom crying hysterically." One of the theater attendants said, squatting down next to Derek.

Derek was about to tell the attendant that he didn't have a girlfriend when he remembered Casey. He rose from his seat and made his way to the back, following the dimly lit pathway.

Casey was just leaving the bathroom when he got there. She wasn't crying now, but Derek could tell that she had been.

"What happened? Are you okay?" He asked her.

"I'm fine, Derek." She said, and then smiled, as if that proved it. "I just have to do that every once in a while."

"Do you want to finish the movies? 'Cause we can go if you want to." Derek asked.

"I'm fine. I promise." She stated.

"Hey, Der-Bear!" A girl with short brown hair and a wide smile approached them. "I tried calling you all day but some little girl kept saying you were in the shower."

Derek smirked. Some people wouldn't take a hint and stop calling and that's where Marti came in handy.

"Yeah," Derek said. "I like long showers. Angela, this is Casey, my sis-, uh, step-sister. Casey, this is Angela. I told you about her."

Casey rolled her eyes. Sure he told her about Angela, and Carrie, and Melanie, and Tabitha and so on and so forth.

"Are you here to see _Tommy Boy_?" She asked and when Derek nodded, she said, "Me too, what a coinky dink. Let's sit together."

"Angela, I don't think…" Derek protested, but Angela grabbed his arm, dragged him back into the theater with Casey, the third wheel, following behind.

Casey sat in the free space next to Derek and crossed her arms over her chest. Derek had to laugh out loud when Casey told Angela, who'd been talking rapidly for ten minutes after they sat down, to shut the hell up. Shocked, Angela did just that much to Derek's relief.

The movies were a great release for Derek. It was a great way to waste seven or so hours. The theater had a 15 minute intermission between each movie providing Derek with the perfect opportunity to escape to the men's restroom-- the only place the two girls close to getting in a catfight couldn't follow him.

When they came home, Casey went straight to her room, shutting the door behind her.

Nora came in and sat down on Casey's bed. Casey was scribbling away in her journal—an instrument very therapeutic in her grieving state.

"So, how did it go at the comedy fest today?" She asked.

"It was okay." Casey said slowly. "Derek's bimbo came along and kind of ruined it."

"Derek's _bimbo_? Nora chuckled.

"Yeah—Angela or Tabitha—whatever her name was. She came running up to us and invited herself to sit with us. So I guess I'm left grieving for Sam and Derek's just quickly moving on." Casey explained.

"Well, honey, I don't think it's fair to judge Derek on how he's grieving." Nora said, for once taking her stepson's side.

Casey nodded her head. "I'm not judging him. I just, I don't know…"

"When your father died I didn't cry for months." Nora said quietly as she picked at Casey's covers. "I was in shock. I had two little girls to raise and I went on doing what I could do to make sure you guys were taken care of. Then one night, I was flipping through the channels—you guys were in bed—and _It's a Wonderful Life_ was on the TV and I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Your Aunt Fiona thankfully came over and was such a lifesaver to me."

Casey closed her journal and wrapped her arms around her mother.

"The point is," Nora said into Casey's shoulder. "Everyone grieves differently. If Derek hasn't done so now, it will hit him eventually. He's going to need you there to be there for him, Case."

Derek was in the kitchen later that night when Casey went down to get some juice. He was drinking milk—and from a glass for once!

Casey grabbed a tall glass from the cabinet and filled it to the rim with grape juice.

"Thirsty much?" Derek smirked.

"Yeah." Casey said. "Listen, I'm sorry if I was a little hostile with Tabitha today."

"Tabitha? Don't you mean Angela?" Derek said, and then added, "I think…"

He grinned and gulped down the rest of his milk, rinsed his glass and dropped it in the sink.

"Well, I'm sorry." Casey said. "I don't know how to explain it. I just felt she was intruding on our grief or something."

"Don't worry about it." Derek said. "I'm not worried about it. Besides, I have never heard you tell anyone to shut the hell up before and that was more comic relief than Farley, Spade or Sandler."

Casey smiled. "Well, we should do that again sometime. I mean, going to the movies, not telling people to shut the hell up. It was kind of fun."

Casey couldn't believe what she was saying. This was Derek she was talking to. _Derek_.

Derek nodded. "Sure, sis." He said.

"Just, uh, don't tell anyone I said that." Casey said with a sly grin as she took a big drink of her juice, "'Cause I'll just deny, deny, deny."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Same here, sis."

He tugged on her ponytail before running back upstairs to turn in for the night.

.oO00Oo.

**Review, please.** Let me know what you think. If you got any suggestions, let me know. Even though I have the whole story outlined, I could still work in your suggestions. Hopefully my updates will be a lot sooner as I have no more papers due in school this semester!

/A.N./ Okay, I don't know if Casey's pop is dead, but for this story, he is. I just know they never talk about him on the show (which, according to some sites is going to change) and they've talked about Derek's mom a few times, so anyway, that's what makes this fanfiction I guess.


	5. Have You Ever?

**Twice in a Lifetime**

Chapter Five

by Nunda

Disclaimer: FAN fiction based on a TV show that I do not own. Lyrics used are Brandy's "Have You Ever".

/A.N./ Thanks for all the reviews. Keep them coming! Also, I just watched the LWD episode, "Dinner Guest"/"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and I must say, Casey's dad is pretty hott. Lol. I'm almost sorry I killed him off in the last chapter.

_"Have you ever been in love  
Been in love so bad  
You'd do anything to make them understand  
Have you ever had someone steal your heart away  
You'd give anything to make them feel the same  
Have you ever searched for words to get you in their heart  
But you don't know what to say  
And you don't know where to start"_

.oO00Oo.

Emily Davis stood on the stoop of her best friend's house. She heard stomping throughout the house after she knocked on the door. Marti threw the door open.

"Hey Marti." Emily smiled. "Is Casey here?"

Emily had tried calling but the line was busy. She really hoped Casey was up to a total BFF session. She brought her CD collection, nail polish, mud masks, and the best John Hughes movies.

"Casey's out with Derek!" Marti said then slammed the door.

"Okay." Emily said, a little deflated. She slung her pack over her shoulder and started down the steps.

"Emily, I'm sorry for Marti's behavior." Nora opened the door seconds later. "I'll tell Casey that you came by. I'm sure she'll be real sorry she missed you. She and Derek just went out bowling. They're so upset about losing Sam that they've really been clinging to each other for support. I hope you understand."

"Yeah. Sure." Emily said. She forced a smile.

_"Have you ever found the one  
You've dreamed of all of your life  
You'd do just about anything to look into their eyes"_

_Emily grabbed a towel from the laundry room, grabbed her CD player, and frozen water bottle and went outside to the pool. She spread the towel out and played her Maroon 5 CD as she laid in the sun. She couldn't believe that middle school had just ended and next year she'd be beginning high school. _

_She glanced next door and noticed that hottie, Derek Venturi, mowing the lawn. She was going to ask him out this school year as the beginning of high school marked a new beginning in her life. Emily Renee Davis was going to get Derek to notice her._

_She sighed as he wiped sweat from his forehead. Then he did the most unbelievable thing and took off his shirt. It was all Emily could do to keep from squealing. He glanced over at her and she quickly pretended to be interested in her _CosmoGirl _magazine. She peeked over the edge of the magazine and noticed he was back to work. _

Emily dumped her bag downstairs and went upstairs to her room.

"Emily? Is that you? Back so soon?" Mrs. Davis called from the kitchen. Emily chose to ignore her and shut her bedroom door.

.0.

Derek, sock-footed due to Casey's fear of catching foot fungus in rental bowling shoes, picked up his neon green bowling ball, held it chest high, swung back, and released it. The ball spun down the lane. Casey looked at Derek skeptically who didn't look worried at all. The ball slammed into the middle pin, knocking down all ten pins.

Derek looked smugly at Casey.

"Beat that, sister." He said, marching back to his seat. His socks slid on the newly waxed floor, and Derek Venturi, self-proclaimed King of Cool, fell on his ass.

Casey bursted into laughter. "I don't know if I can do _that_ brother dear." She said.

Red-faced, Derek glanced around. The only other people there were older men, well past retirement of their bowling league days and they didn't seem to notice he'd even slipped. Casey bowled a spare while Derek was busy trying to regain his dignity.

"Your turn, _Der-Bear_." Casey said, plopping down in her seat. "Try and not fall down this time."

Derek glared at her and grabbed his bowling ball, slinging it furiously down the lane. It looked like a great shot until right at the end where it sank into the gutter.

"It's okay, Derek." Casey said teasingly. "You can't be good at everything."

He grimaced at her, grabbed his ball from the ball-shoot and rolled it down the lane, knocking down all but one menacing pin.

.0.

_"Have you finally found the one you've given your heart to  
Only to find that one won't give their heart to you  
Have you ever closed your eyes and  
Dreamed that they were there  
And all you can do is wait for the day when they will care"_

Bored and lonely, Emily pulled out her junior high yearbook. She flipped to Derek's picture. "Rock on-- Derek", he wrote underneath his photo.

Those three words sent Emily's pubescent young mind into hormonal overdrive. She tried to remember what she had written in his yearbook. Something corny along the lines of, "Have a great summer and never change". Of course, unfortunately for Emily, Derek didn't change. He was still the same overly confident serial dater.

She closed her yearbook, slid it back underneath her bed and stomped downstairs.

"Hey Dad." Emily said upon entering the kitchen. Mr. Davis was seated at the kitchen table eating chocolate cake.

"Want a piece?" He offered her a slice of cake.

"Nah." Emily poured herself a glass of chocolate milk instead and took a seat next to her dad at the table.

"What's been bothering you, Pumpkin?" He asked. Emily shuddered at his use of a childhood nickname.

"It's nothing, Dad. I'm just being very selfish right now." She put her elbows up on the table and noticed that her dad had wisps of gray hair along the sides of his head. When did he get so old?

"If you tell me about it maybe I could help." He said. "Then you can stop being so selfish."

Mr. Davis polished off the last bite of cake and pushed his plate back.

"I don't know how to explain it really. I mean not without sounding completely horrible. I guess I feel kind of left out of Derek and Casey's grieving process. I mean, Sam was my friend too. But Derek and Casey have this new relationship based on losing someone very close to them and I've now become invisible, or worse, a third wheel." Emily confessed.

"Didn't Derek call you three times before the funeral?" Mr. Davis pointed out.

"Four." Emily corrected.

"See? Derek values your friendship or else he wouldn't have called you and went over his speech with you."

Emily looked down at her hands. Her dad had a point. Derek _did _call her about his speech.

"I know you want more than friendship from him, but if you really care for that boy then you will take that friendship and treasure it. One day there will be a guy to come into your life and that's the day I'll have a nervous breakdown."

"_Dad._" Emily laughed.

"Well, it's true." He pushed his daughter's hair out of her face. "You Emily are such a beautiful, intelligent, delightful young woman. I'm not just saying that because I'm biased or anything."

His eyes crinkled around the edges as he grinned proudly at his daughter.

.0.

Casey collapsed into the hard plastic chair and put on her shoes. With a smile pasted on her lips, she couldn't believe that she beat Derek by one point—_one menacing point_. Dressed in head-to-toe in black, a boy from school that Casey recognized as Trevor walked up to them. Derek stood protectively close to Casey as Trevor spoke.

"So, Casey," He said. "First of all, I'm really sorry about Sam."

Casey nodded and Derek instinctively draped an arm around her shoulder.

"And secondly," He said, "Could you give this to Emily? I know you guys are close and I'm extremely shy around her."

He handed her a piece of paper that had been folded quite a few times until it was a tiny square.

"You can read it if you want." He said, slightly blushing.

Derek lightened up. He was beginning to like Trevor—anyone who'd keep Emily occupied was cool with Derek.

"That's okay." Casey slipped the note in her pocket. "I won't read it, I promise. And I'll make sure she gets it."

"Cool." Trevor grinned then walked away from them.

.0.

_"Have you ever loved somebody so much  
It makes you cry  
Have you ever needed something so bad  
You can't sleep at night  
Have you ever tried to find the words  
But they don't come out right  
Have you ever, have you ever"_

Emily glanced out the window and noticed Derek's old model Camaro turning into their shared driveway. Casey, Emily noticed, looked genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. Casey was laughing at something Derek had said and was touching his arm ever so slightly. Emily forced the little green monster Jealousy out her mind. Casey was her best friend. Derek was Casey's stepbrother. Emily chalked her uneasy feelings up to her overactive imagination again.

Casey and Derek—how weird would that be? Wouldn't it?

"_Whatcha readin'?" _

_Emily looked up from her magazine to see Derek leaning against the fence separating their yards._

"_Oh, I- uh, it's…" Emily's face flushed with red. "…it's uh…"_

"_Nevermind." Derek said with a smirk. "So, do you think I could borrow your pool for a while?"_

"_What for?" Emily asked, in a Derek- crushing daze._

"_For swimming." He said slowly, pronouncing each syllable. _

"_Oh, yeah. I knew that." Emily felt her face turning red again. "Sure, Derek, you can go swimming. I would too, ya know, but I'm reading."_

"_I can see that." He said. He reached over and lifted the lock on the gate and let himself in._

_Mentally Emily was chastising herself for being so stupid around him. Reading? How lame could you get?_

.0.

"Casey," Nora entered her daughter's room. "Emily stopped by to see you today. She looked really disappointed that you weren't here."

"Oh, no." Casey said closing her eyes. "I'll call her."

She scrambled across her bed and picked the phone up off the nightstand.

"Emily—hey. I have something for you. It's from a boy." Casey squealed into the phone as soon as Emily answered.

"What boy?" Emily asked suspiciously.

"I think you'll like him." Casey said. "But come over and we can discuss this more."

Five minutes later, Emily was once again on the doorstep. Edwin opened the door this time and let her in. Emily ran up the stairs to Casey's room and bumped into Derek who was walking from the bathroom to his room.

"Hey, Derek." She smiled wide at him and nonchalantly twisted one of her curls on her finger.

"Hey Emily." He replied, not even looking at her. Then he went in his room and shut the door.

Emily got her hopes up. Maybe her mystery guy was Derek. Maybe that's why he didn't look at her because deep down Derek Venturi was a shy, hopeless romantic, just like she was.

Casey threw her bedroom door open.

"Em—what are you doing standing around in the hall? Get in here!" She pulled her best friend in her room and shut the door.

Emily's eyes gazed over the letter Casey had given her.

"_Goth-boy_ Trevor?" She asked, trying not to hide her disappointment.

"Oh, Em you should've seen him. It was so sweet. He seems really nice. I think you should call him." Casey gushed. She hugged her stuffed giraffe to her chest.

"Hey listen, I've got to go help my mom. I promised her I wouldn't stay long. Thanks anyway for the note." Emily stood up, crumpled the note in her hand and left Casey's room. She started to throw the note away downstairs—away from Casey's watchful eye but then decided to slip the wrinkled paper in her pocket for safekeeping.

.0.

Later that night, Emily was in her room looking over the note Casey had given her from Trevor. She glanced over the seven digits scrawled across the bottom of the page. Picking her cordless phone up she quickly dialed the numbers before she could change her mind.

"Trevor? Hey this is Emily…"

/A.N./

I also wanted to note, mainly to **sballLuvr5** that Derek and Casey call each other bro and sis mainly out of sarcasm to each other b/c they're not bro/sis at all nor do they act like it due to the fact that they only recently met. They're just two teenagers forced to live together. lol Hope that helps clear that up.


	6. Broken I

Twice in a Lifetime

By Nunda

Chapter Six

Disclaimer: Just fanfiction. Written by a fan. Lyrics used in this chapter are from Lindsay Haun, "Broken".

/A.N./ Sorry for such a huge delay! A lot of drama happened in my family and it got me really down. But everything's okay now. Thank you so much for all the reviews/messages. I appreciate them all!! I know this next chapter is short, but bear with me, okay? I know where I'm going with this. ;)

_Wake up to a sunny day _

_not a cloud up in the sky, _

_then it starts to rain _

_My defenses hit the ground, _

_And they shatter all around. _

_So open and exposed._

It had now been six weeks and four days since Sam died and even though Casey was still in immense pain from losing him, she was finding it easier to deal with. Now, more than anything, she felt just felt lonely.

Marti marched into Casey's bedroom dressed in one of her princess costumes.

"Nora said it's time for dinner." Marti announced.

Casey looked up from her book that she was reading on her bed.

"Okay, Smarti. I'll be there in a sec." Casey said as she skimmed over the last few sentences of the chapter she was on.

Marti cocked her head to one side, "That's Smerek's name for me."

"_Sor-ry_." Casey said as she laid her book on her bed. She scooped Marti up and carried her downstairs, "Speak of the devil—where is he?"

"He's on a date with Angela." Edwin said as Casey plopped Marti down in her usual seat.

"Angela? What's this like the fourth or fifth time he's been out with her? They must be getting serious." Casey said.

"Derek? Serious?" Edwin laughed. "Angela's just that hot."

"Please." Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Can we get through one meal where one of you guys aren't calling some girl hot?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Nora said approvingly.

"Yeah-- what Nora said." George said through a mouthful of food.

"I just think it must be some sort of record." Casey said.

"Or miracle." Lizzie muttered.

o0OO0o

"I'll do the dishes, Mom." Casey said after everyone had been excused from the dinner table.

"Thanks for the offer." Nora said. "But Lizzie and I already have a date with the dishes tonight."

"You sure?" Casey asked one last time.

"We're sure." Lizzie said gathering up plates.

"I'll just go to my room then." Casey said. And then quietly added, "Alone."

Once in her room, Casey pulled out her cell phone and pressed the speed dial for Emily.

"Case, what's wrong?" Emily immediately answered the phone.

"Nothing's wrong." Casey smiled. "I just wanted to talk."

"About what?" Emily asked.

Casey, noticing Emily's tone, said, "Are you busy?"

"It's just that Trevor and I are—"

"You're on a date?" Casey interrupted.

"Yeah." Emily admitted. "But if you need to talk we can totally talk. Trev doesn't mind."

"No, Em. Enjoy your date. I'm sorry." Casey said as she hung up the phone.

Casey had no choice but to resort back to her book. Casey heard the phone ring downstairs and Edwin shout, "I'll get it!"

She turned over and kept reading her book. A few moments later there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Casey replied. She marked her page in her book and Edwin entered.

"Here—it's Derek." Edwin said handing her the phone. Casey arched an eyebrow. Wasn't he supposed to be on a date? Why was he calling home?

"Hello?" Casey said in to the phone.

"Crazy thing." Derek said. "I'm driving with Angela to the movies after going out to eat. Turn on the radio and guess what's playing?"

He didn't give her time to answer, "'Radios in Heaven'."

"Oh." Casey said, her breath catching in her throat.

"Yeah. So I just called…to check on you."

"I'm just reading." She said, shocked that he even called. Sure, he's been nicer to her a lot lately—but to call while he's on a date? That was just insane.

"Well that's nothing new." He remarked. Even though she couldn't see him, she could tell he was smiling. Then, Casey heard a female voice in the background.

"Who are you talking to?" Who Casey presumed was Angela demanded.

Derek tried to cover the phone, but Casey could still hear his muffled voice, "I'll be there in a minute."

Casey couldn't hear Angela's reply but it didn't sound too happy.

"Sorry about that." He said into the phone.

"It's okay." Casey said. "And Derek—thanks."

Her voice began to crack but she swallowed down the lump that was forming in her throat.

"I'll see you later, at home." He said quickly.

"Bye." Casey said, and then heard the dial tone. She turned the phone off and threw it at the end of her bed. She didn't feel like taking it back all the way downstairs.

_Little girl don't be so blue, _

_I know what you're goin' through. _

_Don't let it beat you up. _

_Heaven knows that getting scars only makes you who you are..._

_only makes you who you are._

Casey let the tears freely fall on her pillow. She didn't have Sam. She didn't have Emily. And now she didn't have Derek. Even Lizzie and her mom were busy. Reluctantly, Casey fell asleep with her book in her lap.

_When you're broken in a million little pieces and _

_you're tryin but you can't hold on anymore._

_Every tear falls down for a reason. _

_Don't you stop believing in yourself. When you're broken._

Casey awoke thirty minutes later to loud voices outside her bedroom. _Derek?_ She sat up quickly and straightened her hair with her fingers. _No, he was at the movie theaters. _Casey got up and walked towards her door. _Yeah, that's him all right._

She threw her door open, "What happened to the movies?"

Derek, deep in conversation with Edwin, looked up at Casey.

"Turns out," He said, "I've already seen that movie."

"So you just left Angela there?" Casey questioned. Derek wasn't making any sense.

He laughed and rolled his eyes, "I should have, but no. I took her home."

"Goodnight you guys." Edwin said, realizing that he wouldn't be continuing his discussion with Derek any time soon.

"Goodnight." The two teens said in unison. Edwin disappeared upstairs to his attic bedroom.

"So…" Derek said. "On my way home I stopped and got some rocky road ice cream. Wanna help me eat it?"

"Rocky road?" Casey's eyes lit up. "That's my favorite."

"I know." Derek said. "Race ya."

They raced down the hallway, thundered down the stairs, and clambered into the kitchen. Derek was taking down two bowls from one of the cupboards when Nora came up the basement stairs clad in her nightgown.

"What's all this noise up here?" She demanded.

"Sorry, Mom." Casey said sheepishly.

"Yeah, Nora." Derek replied with a smirk. "I was trying to get here before Casey ate all the ice cream."

"Well, keep it down. There are people in this house trying to sleep." She said. She gave each one a meaningful glance as they both nodded and then she went back downstairs.

Casey stuck her tongue out at Derek. "Before _I _ate all the ice cream? I'm not the one with the bottomless pit for a stomach."

She patted his flat stomach.

"Well, you _do _like rocky road." Derek dug into the ice cream, only to scoop out a little bit at a time. Casey grabbed a spoon and scooped out a bite for herself.

"Mmm." She said closing her eyes and relishing the chocolate chunks and ice cream.

"Hey!" Derek shrieked. "That's cheating."

She just smiled and handed him a spoon. Derek forgot about scooping the ice cream into bowls and took the spoon from Casey.

"Wanna play some Baberaider?" Derek asked her after they had eaten all the ice cream. And then he added, "I'm not a bit tired."

"Sure." Casey replied, thankful for the distraction from her bouts of self-pity. They weren't even halfway through the second level when Casey noticed Derek starting to fall asleep next to her on the couch. She nudged him in the side and his head shot up quickly.

"Go to bed." She told him.

"I told you," He said as he yawned, "I'm not a bit tired."

Casey laughed, "Only 'cause I'm winning."

"What can I say?" Derek said sleepily, "You are the queen of babes."

"Derek, if you don't go to bed," Casey said in a warning tone, "I'm going to have to hug you."

"Anything but that!" He said jumping up. Casey, with a smile on her lips, watched him sprint up the stairs.

As she was putting away the game system, Derek back-tracked downstairs.

"Listen, Casey, tonight with Angela was really, really lame." He said quickly. "I wanted to see the new Spiderman movie but she said spiders were 'icky'. I gave in and sat through some cheesy teeny-bop movie. And well, that lasted thirty minutes before I called it quits…"

"Is there a point to this rambling recap of your date from hell?" Casey interrupted him.

"Yes, well, I was wondering if, since I didn't get to see _Spiderman 3_, if you'd want to go with me. Tomorrow. To see the movie."

"Well, I do love me some Tobey Maguire." Casey said with a mischievous grin.

"Is that a yes then?" He asked.

"It's a yes." Casey replied.

**REVIEW!! please?**

**/A.N./ I know Spiderman 3 is not out yet, but for the sake of this story (which is set in Jan/Feb 2007) it is. BTW, I can't wait to see this movie. Spidey is my hero. **


	7. Beautiful

**Twice in a Lifetime**

Chapter Seven

by Nunda

Disclaimer: FAN fiction based on a TV show that I do not own. Lyrics from "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera.

/A.N./ Thank you to everyone who hasn't given up on this story. I really appreciate all of the feedback!

.oO00Oo.

_Everyday is so wonderful  
__And suddenly, I saw debris..._

_"Derek!" George thundered. "Get down here!"_

_Derek ignored his father and turned his stereo up louder. George glanced at his fiancee Nora apologetically._

_"I'll be right back." He said._

_Casey rolled her eyes and glanced at Edwin and Marti who were dressed to the nines and sitting on the couch. Well, Edwin was sitting. Marti was..._crouching.

_Casey glanced up the the unknown upstairs. This boy, her future step-brother, seemed to be a big pain. She just wanted to get this night over with-- the big dinner with her mom's fiance and his three kids before their wedding._

_Finally, George walked triumphantly back down the stairs. Behind him was a visibly upset Derek._

Of course, _Casey thought bitterly to herself, _he had to be gorgeous.

_"Nora," George said, "This is my other son, Derek."_

_"I've heard lots of good things about you." Nora said with a tight-lipped smile._

_Derek rolled his eyes and George squeezed Derek's arm._

_"Derek, this is Nora's daughters Casey and Lizzie." _

_Derek glanced at each of them but his eyes lingered on Casey. She looked very stuck up. And that was when he made his mind up about Casey MacDonald._

.oO00Oo.

"That was awesome." Derek said excitedly as he and Casey left the movie theaters. "Venom, Sandman-- everything was perfect."

Casey laughed. Derek had been transported back to his childhood-- comic books and Saturday morning cartoons. Which, really, was no different from everyday for Derek.

"Tobey's hot." Casey shrugged.

Derek threw her a disgusted glance.

"Let's pretend you didn't just say that." He said. "That was the best one in the triology, don't you think?"

"I would respond," Casey said with a smile as the continued walking out to the parking lot. "But you'll just get upset again."

"Oh, _damn._" Derek said suddenly, looking very nervous.

"What's wrong?" Casey asked him immediately.

"Just keep walking. And keep your head down." Derek put his arm around Casey's shoulders to help her walk faster.

"Derek Venturi!" They heard a shrill voice behind them.

"So, what's the weather looking like for tomorrow?" Derek said in a perfectly normal voice, ignoring the one behind him. "I was thinking about wearing my new polo shirt tomorrow, but I think it might be too soon."

Suddenly, a hand from behind them, grabbed Derek and whirled him around.

"So, you dumped me for _her?_" Angela's voice seethed. She narrowed her green eyes in Casey's direction. Had Casey looked at Derek she would've noticed the blush rising to his cheeks.

"It's not like that." Derek blurted.

"Really?" Angela cocked a thin eyebrow at Derek who seemed to squirm under her heated glare. "So what is this then-- _Family Fun Night?_"

Casey's hands flew to her hips as she said, "And _that _would be none of your business."

"Apparently _not._" Angela said with disdain. With a flip of her hair, she and her clique walked past the two of them and into the theater.

.oO00Oo.

_"Can you please chew with your mouth shut? You're grossing me out." Casey, sitting across from Derek at the restaurant, said._

_"Yeah, well, your hair looks dumb." Derek lamely replied._

_"_Excuse me."_ Casey said curtly. She slid her chair back and headed straight for the ladies room._

_"Derek, we'll talk punishment later." George growled from across the table. He wouldn't blame Nora if she called the whole wedding off now. At the rate the evening was going it might not be such a bad idea._

_"Casey is having a hard time dealing with all these new changes." Nora said, laying a guilt trip on Derek._

_Lizzie rolled her eyes at her mom, "Don't worry. I'll check on Casey."_

.oO00Oo.

"Don't worry about her." Derek said to Casey as he started up his car.

"Angela?" Casey laughed. "I'm not worried."

"She can be a bitch." He said.

Casey glanced at him. His expression had softened from mere minutes ago.

"Derek--?"

"What?"

Casey shook her head, "Nothing."

Derek glanced over at her and smiled. "It didn't look like nothing."

"Just-- nevermind. I forgot what I was going to ay." Casey turned to face the window. She could feel her cheeks burning. She wasn't exactly sure of what she was going to say to Derek but it had already embarassed her.

.oO00Oo.

"Hey, Em." Casey walked up to her locker and greeted her best friend.

Emily glanced around the hallways, then grabbed Casey's arm and pulled her into an empty classroom.

"What's going on?" Casey demanded.

"You really don't want to be here today." Emily said in a hushed whisper.

"What are you talking about?" Confusion clouded Casey's blue eyes.

"Can your mom or George come pick you up?" Emily asked. She was holding Casey's shoulders and speaking to her as if she were a child.

"Emily-- tell me what's going on _now._" Casey's voice rose an octave.

"Sit down." Emily demanded. Casey complied and sunk down into a desk. Emily paced back and forth while Casey waited rather impatiently for her to continue.

"There's rumors..." Emily trailed.

"Rumors? I don't care about rumors." Casey quipped.

"Now, you know I totally support any decision you make but there are others in this world that aren't as accepting." Emily said.

"What? Did I supposedly kill somebody?" Casey asked.

"Worse." Emily said relunctantly. "Rumor has it, you have a relationship with Derek."

Casey replied, "Of course I have a relationship with Derek-- he's my stepbrother."

Casey started to get up but Emily pushed her back into the seat.

"Let me make this a little more clear for you." Emily said slowly. "According to rumors, you are _dating _the Derek Venturi."

So many emotions washed through Casey, draining her face of blood and leaving her pale and weak. She had a reputation to maintain. Sure, she was the klutzy grade-grubber, but she couldn't imagine what people thought of her now. She placed a hand over her chest, trying to keep her heart from pounding so hard.

"Emily, I--"

"Don't worry." Emily said. "I'm not mad. Trevor helped me get completely over Derek."

Instead of correcting Emily's mistake, Casey asked, "Who is saying this?"

"The whole school is talking about it." Emily said. "Some are supportive-- like me, they think it's about time. Others, especially girls, are not so happy about it."

"And Derek?" Casey asked.

"Trevor is on his way to catch him right now."

.oO00Oo.

_Now and then, I get insecure  
__From all the pain, I'm so ashamed..._

_"Are you okay?" Lizzie handed her sister a tissue._

_Casey shook her head and dabbed her eyes with the tissue._

_"For what it's worth, your hair doesn't look dumb." Lizzie said._

_Casey let out a ragged sigh. "It's not just the hair comment, Liz. He has been very rude to me all evening. And I have to live with him for the next three years at least."_

_"Most guys make fun of what they like." Lizzie said. "I'm sure he doesn't think you or your hair is dumb."_

_Casey laughed through her tears and blew her nose._

_"You can't get this worked up over him everytime he says something mean or it's going to be a long three years for you." Lizzie, wise beyond her ten years, said. She hooked an arm through Casey's and sat next to her on the bathroom floor._

_"Do you think we can hide out in here all night?" Casey leaned her head on Lizzie's shoulder._

_"If it'll make you feel better." Lizzie replied._

.oO00Oo.

_I am beautiful no matter what they say  
__Words can't bring me down..._

"Here she comes." Casey heard someone whisper as she walked to her homeroom. She kept walking, not bothering to give them a second glance.

In homeroom, she noticed Derek right away. He was sitting in the back, looking very pissed.

_Oh, god._

The fact that he was mad didn't bother Casey. It was the fact that he didn't have his usual legion of girls surrounding him that worried her. Sure, the thoughtless bimbos annoyed her to no end but they were a normal occurence in the world of Derek Venturi. Casey looked around the room. She hoped she appeared more calm on the outside than she did on the inside. She could barely stand to look at Derek.

_What was going through his head right now?_

After homeroom was dismissed, Casey tried to catch up with him but he slammed out of the room quicker than she could get out of her desk.

"How are you holding up?" Emily asked as she met Casey at the door.

"So far, so good." Casey said. She adjusted her strap on her backpack as they walked to Biology.

Suddenly, Emily's eyes went as big as saucers.

"What's wrong?" Casey asked.

"Nothing. Keep walking." Emily said nervously.

Casey glanced over at her locker. Someone had taken a big, black permanent marker and had written 'Incest Slut' across her locker in big, bold letters.

"Oh god..." Casey's hand flew to her mouth as hot tears peirced her eyes.

All around her she could hear snickering. Suddenly Casey felt dizzy-- she didn't even feel Emily's arm wrap around her shoulders. There was a commotion at the back of the newly-formed crowd around Casey's locker, as Derek pushed his way to the front. His fist slammed into the locker as he read the harsh words.

"Somebody better start talking." He growled. He gazed over the students who suddenly became quiet.

"What's going on out here?" Principal Harrison thundered as he walked toward Derek. Then to the students, he said, "Get to class!"

Everyone but Casey, Emily, and Derek scurried to class.

"I want whoever did this to my sis-- to Casey's locker to be punished." Derek said as he rubbed his sore knuckles.

"Casey?" Harrison turned toward her. "Do you have any idea who would do this?"

Casey shook her head.

"I do." Emily said with conviction. "Angela Patterson."

Derek grabbed his backpack and stomped down the halls.

"Mr. Venturi, get back here." Mr. Harrison demanded.

Derek waved him off and kept walking to one place-- Home Ec.

"I'll have a janitor clean this right away." Mr. Harrison said to Casey. "Would you like to lay down in the nurse's office for next period?"

"Paul." Casey said. "I need to talk to Paul."

"Very well, then." Harrison said. "Emily, see to it that she gets to the counselor's office and get to your next class. Right now I have a Venturi to find."

.oO00Oo.

"I don't understand, Paul. Why would people say such things?" Casey, with her elbows on Paul's desk, held her head in her hands.

"There's no good excuse, but maybe just jealous of your newfound closeness with Derek."

"But I'm his _step-sister._" Casey said. "It's not like we could ever be anything more."

"Stranger things have happened." Paul remarked. He pulled some red-licorice out of his desk and offered Casey a piece. She scrunched up her nose and he shrugged, popping a piece in his mouth.

"What do you mean-- _stranger things have happened_?" Casey sat straight up in her chair.

"What I mean is, although it's not ideal, step-sibling relationships have been known to work out. Especially in your's and Derek's case where you guys have only met when you were older."

"Well, I don't like Derek like that." Casey crossed her arms over her chest.

"If you say so." Paul said as he glanced over papers on his desk.

"_Excuse me?" _Casey narrowed her eyes at Paul.

"Everytime you come to see me, it's because of Derek. He may not have had anything to do with the situation at hand but you'd always relate everything back to him."

"That's not true." Casey said stubbornly. She stood up abruptly. "Thanks for your _help, _Paul."

She left his office feeling more confused than when she went in.

.oO00Oo.

At lunchtime, Casey sat with Emily and Trevor but couldn't help scanning the overcrowded cafeteria.

"He's not here." Trevor said. He and Emily were sitting across from Casey.

"Who?" Casey said, feigning innocense.

Emily laughed.

"Derek-- he got suspended." Trevor answered.

"Suspended?" Both Emily and Casey echoed.

"Yeah, apparently while Angela's the one who started the whole rumors, her new boyfriend, Jeff, is the one who wrote on your locker."

"And?" Casey and Emily were on the edges of their seats.

"And Derek pulled him out of woodshop and began punching him. I was in that class when it happened. It was awesome."

Emily squealed as Casey's jaw hit the floor.

"But Harrison went easy on Derek." Trevor continued. "He's only suspended until Friday. Jeff, however, is suspended for two weeks for destruction of school property and he's not allowed to go to next week's Valentine's Dance."

"But Derek's allowed to go, right?" Emily said, taking a bite out of pizza. She raised an eyebrow at Casey.

"As far as I know." Trevor replied.

Casey looked at Emily questioningly. Just what was she getting at?

.oO00Oo.

He was in the backyard working on Marti's bicycle when she found him. She almost laughed at the smudge of bicycle grease smeared across his cheek.

"Thank you." She said. He looked up at her, his hair falling in his eyes.

"Don't." He said.

"What?" She asked.

"You don't have to thank me." He threw down the rachet he was using and turned the bike up on its wheels. "Wanna give it a test drive?"

"No." She replied shaking her head. "Derek, why did you say that?"

"Because someone has to test it while Marti's away." He replied.

"No, Derek, I mean about the not thanking you part." She watched as he rolled the bicycle around. He shrugged but he wouldn't look up at her.

"That's what step-brothers are for, right?" He said "Punch some guy for being an asshole."

"No." Casey said. "Derek, you _are_ that guy." He flinched.

"Or, you used to be." She quickly recovered. She grabbed his arm and he finally looked up at her.

"Well, as your friend, then." He said.

Casey couldn't help it. The grin that spread across her face just wouldn't go away.

.oO00Oo.

_Yes, words can't bring us down, oh no  
So don't you bring me down today...  
_

**_Review, please. _**There's only a few chapters left and this will be done.


	8. Broken II

**Twice in a Lifetime**

**Chapter 8**

/A.N./ Hey guys. Thanks for keepin' on reading. :X Means a lot. There are references from chapter four in here, so if you get confused you might wanna re-read it.

Disclaimer: Don't own the show, obviously. Lyrics belong to Seether, "Broken"

_'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome_

_And I don't feel right when you're gone away_

_You've gone away, you don't feel me, anymore_

Casey was sleeping peacefully and dreaming about floating up to the clouds where Sam was calling her name. She reached up, her hand touched a door. Just as she was about to open the door, she felt something crash into her side. Casey's eyes flew open and she was back in her room again. The airy dream dissolved before her eyes. She squinted in the dark at her intruder who was lying in bed next to her.

"Derek?" She asked hopefully as fear clutched at her brain. She reached beside her and turned her lamp on.

"Turn out the light." Derek said covering his eyes. Instead, she turned the lamp on dim and sat up in bed, pulling the covers around her.

"What are you doing?" She demanded in a hushed whisper.

"Sweeping." He slurred.

"_Sweeping_? Derek are you drunk?" Casey leaned over and sniffed. He certainly smelled like alcohol.

"I only had a drink or three. Or was it four? Wait, what comes after seven?" He pushed his fingers into his temples, trying to massage the numbness away.

"Derek, you reek!" Casey said. She tried to shove him out of her bed. "Go take a shower. Maybe it'll help sober you up."

"They had a dedication ceremony for him today." Derek said suddenly.

"What?" Casey asked.

"Yeah. Before the game. They didn't warn me or anything. Showed a bunch of his peewee hockey pictures. They retired his number an' everything." His speech was slow and slurred and Casey had a hard time understanding him. She stood up and pulled him up.

"Where are we goin' Case?" He asked, lamely clutching her arm for support.

"To the shower." She said and pulled him into the bathroom.

"Ooo…Casey wants to see me nekk-ed." He slurred in a sing-song voice.

"Don't flatter yourself." Casey said, turning the shower on. She stripped his shirt off of him and helped him pull off his pants. He started for his boxers but she stopped him.

"I really don't want to be further traumatized." She said flatly.

"What?" He said sounding miffed. "Everyone wants a piece of this…"

Casey used both of her hands and shoved him into the shower. He sunk down into the bottom of the tub and let the water flow over his body.

.oO00Oo.

Peacefully enjoying a light breakfast while everyone else in the household slept, Casey tried to keep her mind off of the events of the night before. Derek crashing into her room. No, _drunk _Derek crashing into her room. It was useless. The events played in her mind over and over and wouldn't leave her alone.

"_Everyone grieves differently. If Derek hasn't done so now, it will hit him eventually. He's going to need you there to be there for him, Case."_

Her mother's words were coming back to haunt her.

"Casey, you're up early for a Saturday." George said after he came up the stairs from his basement bedroom. He went to the coffeemaker and poured two cups of coffee.

"Yeah, I didn't exactly get a good night's sleep." She replied as she continued eating a cream-cheese covered bagel.

"Bad dream?" He asked as he stood poised next the basement door with the two cups of steaming coffee.

"Something like that." She said.

He shook his head and started down the stairs.

"Oh, Casey?" He turned on the step.

"Yes, George?"

"Did Derek…" He trailed off with his eyes downcast. "How was Derek last night?"

Casey considered telling him the truth. Derek was a mess. A drunken, grieving mess. He needed his father to tell him that everything would be all right—to tell him that sometimes bad things happened to good people and that this life is only the beginning of our existence. He needed his best friend.

"He was fine. A little shook up by the dedication for Sam, but he's okay." She said hastily.

He nodded, accepting her answer, and continued downstairs.

She fought the tears that were on the verge of spilling down her cheeks and could no longer eat the rest of her bagel.

"_Casey?"_

"_Derek, you need to just sleep this off." Casey said as she helped him into his bed._

"_Do you ever wonder where he's at now?" He asked._

_Casey sat on the edge of his bed as she pulled the covers up to his chin._

"_All the time." She answered._

"_He wanted to be a doctor." He said. _

_This came as a surprise to Casey. Sam never talked about his career goals with her—only about hockey and how he was going to use his hockey abilities to get into a good school._

"_We were thirteen." Derek said and closed his eyes. "Sam's cousin, Chrissy, had a baby, Hannah. At first, she was all right—the baby. But at her first check up the doctor's knew something was wrong. Her liver wasn't functioning properly and without a transplant she wouldn't survive. They waited for months for a donor but Hannah didn't make it. After that, Sam made it a personal mission to become a doctor. He wanted to help people like Chrissy. He wanted to make a difference."_

_Derek abruptly turned away from Casey, his shoulders hunched up._

"_Derek?" Casey put a hand on his shoulder._

"_Just go." He said as he shrugged her hand off._

"_I'm not leaving you here like this…crying."_

"_Boys don't cry." Derek said through gritted teeth. He hastily wiped at his eyes._

"_Derek…"_

"_Get out of my room Casey!"_

_Casey jumped back, startled._

"_Fine." She hurriedly made her way back to her room. _

.oO00Oo.

Derek rolled over in bed, clutching his head. He looked up at his alarm clock and was shocked to find that it was almost two o'clock in the afternoon.

Stumbling down to the kitchen, he found Nora cleaning up after lunch.

"Glad to see you finally decided to join the land of the living." She said.

Derek grunted in response and threw open the refrigerator door. Dissatisfied with its contents he went to the cupboards and found some Pop Tarts. Although, his stomach churned in protest, Derek swallowed down the sugary confection.

"Do we have any Aspirin?" He asked his stepmother between bites.

"I have some in the medicine cabinet downstairs. I'll go get it."

"Smerek, why was Casey crying this morning?" Marti climbed up on the barstool next to him.

"Sometimes big people cry when they're sad." He said.

Marti, with wide eyes, asked, "Do you cry Smerek?"

"Yes." He said honestly. "I do."

.oO00Oo.

The wind whipped around Derek as he stood, transfixed by the tombstone.

_Sam Andrew Marshall_

_July 16, 1990-December 12, 2006_

_Beloved son, brother, friend._

Sam's sophomore high school picture was encased in glass underneath the inscription.

"Hey, man." Derek said. He sat down at the foot of the grave. "I know, this is cheesy, right? Me sitting here talking to your tombstone as if you can hear me."

Derek looked around, making sure no one else was around.

"So, how's life treating you on the other side? Have you met Kurt yet? Did he say anything about Courtney?"

Derek glanced up at the sky. Could Sam really hear him?

"Life down here sucks, man. I've been trying to keep my promise to you. It's not that hard really. I mean it just seems so natural. And that scares the hell out of me."

Derek was silent for a few moments. Instead of fighting the tears, he let them flow.

"I yelled at Casey last night. She was just trying to help. I know, I'm an ass, right?"

Derek let out a shaky breath and continued, "They had a dedication for you before last night's game. They put up a few of your peewee hockey pictures on the scoreboard screen. They even retired your number. So, yeah, I went to the after party and got smashed. I won't be doing that again anytime soon. This headache is massive."

Derek stood up. "I have to find Casey, now. Make things right. A promise is a promise, after all."

.oO00Oo.

"It feels good to have a girls' day out." Casey admitted to Emily as they walked through the mall.

"Yeah, it does." Emily smiled.

"This shirt is adorable." Casey ran to a rack of clothes on display outside of Aéropostale.

"Stripes are trendy right now." Emily nodded. "And that color is totally you."

"Do you think so?" Casey held the shirt up.

"Totally."

"I'm glad Trevor hasn't influenced your fashion sense." Casey said as she draped the shirt over her arm and continued looking through the different racks.

"Hey!" Emily laughed. "Trevor is…unique. But I haven't totally escaped his clutches influence free."

Emily pulled a silver chain necklace out from under her shirt. Silver and dainty, a skull-and-crossbones pendant hung from the chain.

"Well, skull-and-crossbones are trendy right now." Casey said mockingly of Emily. Both girls laughed.

"I'm glad you and Trevor found each other. You seem very happy with him." Casey said.

"Oh, I am." Emily said. "So, have you talked to Derek today?"

Casey rolled her eyes. "Do we have to talk about him now?"

"Sorry." Emily pulled out a pair of Capri pants and handed them to Casey. "Try these on with that shirt. I didn't mean to touch on a nerve with Derek."

"It's okay." Casey said. She went into one of the dressing rooms, talking to Emily through the door. "I haven't talked to him since he yelled at me last night. Sorry for calling you so late last night, by the way. I was just upset."

"Casey, I am your best friend. You can call me anytime of night you want to."

Casey opened the door.

"Well? What do you think?" Casey turned around so Emily could get a full view of the outfit.

"If you don't buy it for yourself then I'm going to buy it for you." Emily said.

Neither girl left the mall with less than three bags of clothes each.

.oO00Oo.

_The worst is over now and we can breathe again_

_I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away…_

"Come on, Casey." Nora said as soon as Casey came home. "We're going out for pizza."

"What?" Casey said, setting her bags down. "I just got home."

"You know we always celebrate family victories." George said.

"What are we celebrating?" Casey asked. She looked at her family skeptically as they were getting their coats on.

Lizzie looked at her sister in disbelief. "Derek won the hockey game last night."

"Oh." Casey said lamely.

"Since he was out late last night with the team, we didn't get to celebrate as a family." Nora said.

_Like Derek even cared, _Casey thought smugly. _He did his own celebrating. And where is he?_

"So where is the star of the evening?" Casey said, bemused.

"I'm here." Derek said from the top of the stairs. "I just had to get a quick shower."

His hair was still wet and somehow that made him look incredibly vulnerable. Casey found herself staring at his dark brown hair and matching brown eyes.

"Are you coming, Casey?" Nora asked.

"Since I'm taking my own car, she can ride with me." Derek said. "I just need a few extra minutes to get ready and we'll meet you guys there."

Casey quickly averted her eyes.

"Okay, we'll see you guys there." George said.

After the front door shut, Casey grabbed all of her shopping bags and took them to her room. She rummaged through the bags and found a light gray baby doll dress that she'd found at Aéropostale.

Derek was reading a comic book in his recliner when Casey came downstairs. His eyes went wide when he saw her coming down the stairs. The dress fell at just above her knees and she had curled her hair so that it fell over her shoulders.

"It's a little cold for a short-sleeved dress, isn't it?" He asked.

"Don't worry, Dad, I'm bringing a sweater to wear over it." She indicated to the pink sweater in her hand.

"We don't want to keep them waiting any longer." He said. "Thanks to your thirty-minute wardrobe change they probably think we got lost."

"Well, it was worth it." Casey said walking to the door. She didn't see Derek nodding in agreement.

.oO00Oo.

"About last night." Derek said as they drove through their neighborhood.

"I know." Casey said. "I get it."

"I'm trying to apologize here." Derek said. "I'm sorry, okay? I acted like an ass."

"Thanks." Casey said. She was impressed he actually used the s-word. He also sounded very sincere.

"We still friends?" He said with a grin.

"Sure." Casey said and couldn't help grinning back at him.

"You look really nice, by the way." He said.

"You're on a roll tonight, aren't you?" She said.

"Well, it's the truth."

They rode in silence until they reached the restaurant.

Derek parked next to their family's minivan and shut the car off.

"I visited him, today." He said, leaning against the steering wheel.

No further explanation was needed. Casey knew who he was talking about.

"I haven't talked myself into going there yet." She said.

"You should, Casey." He said. "Not that I'm pressuring you or anything, but it's very therapeutic."

She caught a glimpse of a tear in his head and grabbed his hand without hesitation.

"Maybe you can take me there." Casey said.

"Yeah, of course." He replied. The tear fell silently down his cheek. Embarrassed, he turned towards the window and muttered, "Boys don't cry."

"Yes they do." Casey said. "When they've lost their best friend. Derek, it's normal. You shouldn't feel ashamed."

She was rubbing his arm now.

"I just need a minute before I go inside." Derek said. "Tell them I'm doing a hundred push-ups or something manly like that."

"Take your time." Casey said as she unbuckled. "I can handle the family."

They held each other's gazes and suddenly Casey could feel a blush rising in her cheeks.

"I should go inside now." She said squeezing his hand.

'_Cause I'm broken when I'm open _

_And I don't feel like I am strong enough…_

Derek watched as she ran across the parking lot and disappeared into the restaurant.

"_Just take care of her for me. You're my best friend. She's a really great girl, Derek. You'll see it soon. Trust me on that."_

"I know, Sam." Derek whispered. "I know now."

'_Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome_

_And I don't feel right when you're gone away…_

**Review, please. **Also, you can see the dress Casey was wearing on the Aéropostale website under the dresses section. Which that dress is so mine, btw—next payday. lol. Aéropostale is my fave store, so I had to give them a little shout out in this chapter.


	9. Everything

Twice in a Lifetime

Chapter 9

by Nunda

**/A.N./** I am so sorry for the long delay…I know, I'm disgusted with myself too. o.O I had most of this chapter written for a while…I just couldn't get the last part right. So, I hope you like what I came up with.

As usual, thanks for the reviews everyone! I love them all! I've got a treat in the works for you all after I'm finished with this story. To **pissedoffreviewer**—I care very much about the readers, and you too. :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the show, obviously (or maybe I _do_ and I'm just screwing with you?) Lyrics used are from Lifehouse's "Everything".

.oO00Oo.

…  
_You calm the storms, and you give me rest.  
__You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.  
_…

_Five-year old Casey MacDonald watched as her father meticulously worked on something at his desk. _

"_What is that, Daddy?" She asked quietly, standing behind him. _

"_You'll see." He said with a smile._

_Casey watched in awe as he put tiny little parts in their place in what looked like a big box._

"_Almost done." He said. He put a cover piece over the box and screwed it down tight. "Voilla! And to think, your Mom wanted to throw this old thing out." _

_She watched him take down one of his records and placed it on the phonograph. _

"_Casey, would you like to dance?" He stood up and held out his hand. Casey giggled and took his hand. She recognized the song immediately—Elvis's "Love me Tender", her Mom's favorite._

"_You see, Casey," Dennis said, as he twirled Casey around on his feet. "Sometimes, what seems impossible with a little work becomes possible."_

.oO00Oo.

Casey pushed the J.S. Thompson High's second floor bathroom door open and came face to face with Angela.

"Casey." Angela said in surprise, as she looked up from the mirror.

"_Angela_." Casey mocked and went to the mirror beside her, combing her fingers through her hair.

Angela watched Casey as she re-applied lip gloss. Casey noticed and threw up her eyebrows questioningly.

"Do you know if Derek's taking anyone to the dance?" Angela asked.

Casey gawked at Angela's audacity.

"According to you, he should be taking me to the dance." Casey said, snapping the lid closed on her lip gloss.

"Casey, I'm sorry about that. Really. I broke up with Jeff because of what he did." Angela said.

"I'm sure you're sorry." Casey said, leaning backwards against the sink, staring down at her nemesis.

"Do you think you could put in a word for me with Derek?" Angela asked, almost apologetically. But Casey knew better. She could see right through her little act.

"I'll put in a word." Casey said as she walked to the door. "_Bitch_."

Angela, too stunned to react, brewed silently after Casey walked out of the bathroom, grinning. Casey knew that Angela had a snowball's chance in hell with going to that dance with Derek.

_Hell_, Casey thought to herself, _I have a better chance than she does_.

This thought made Casey grin in spite of herself.

.oO00Oo.

…  
_I want to feel you  
I need to hear you  
You are the light  
That's leading me  
To the place where I find peace again.  
_…

"You sure you wanna do this?" Derek asked Casey gently.

"More than anything." She replied.

Derek shook his head at her and smiled. "Little rebel Casey skipping school."

"It seems like I'm good at that lately."

Derek looked at her quizzically, "You've skipped school?" He asked as they walked out to the student parking lot.

"No, I meant rebelling." She clarified.

He was about to ask her to elaborate when they noticed the patrol car of the school's officer making its way around the parking lot. Derek grabbed Casey's arm and they ducked behind a parked car.

"That was close." Casey commented as she slid down onto the concrete. Her heart was slamming into her chest.

Derek stood halfway up and peered through the car window. Without glancing at her, he reached down and grabbed Casey's hand.

"One…two…three!" They ran across the parking lot and crashed into Derek's car, quickly climbing in. Seeing the officer make one final sweep of the parking lot, they ducked down into the floorboard. Derek, once again the lookout, glanced up to make sure he had left the parking lot completely. When they were sure he was gone, they both busted out laughing.

"Well, that was more fun than I thought." Casey said as Derek started up the car.

"Casey's coming to the dark side." Derek laughed.

"Hey, it's for a good cause." Casey said clutching onto his arm. Derek noticed her hand on his arm and continued driving. The closer they got to their destination, the tighter Casey's grip became.

…  
_You calm the storms, and you give me rest.  
You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.  
_…

Derek pulled into a parking spot off the side of the road.

"It's just up the hill there." He said but Casey didn't let go of his arm. In fact, she looked very scared.

"You're coming with me." She said in barely a whisper.

Not only was Casey still holding Derek's arm but she was leaning wholly on him for support as they walked to Sam's grave. Casey's breath hitched upon seeing the headstone with the photo of Sam.

"He knew for so long without telling anyone." Casey whispered. Derek wanted so badly to wipe the tears out of her eyes and hug her tightly.

"He wanted to live as normal as possible during what time he had left." Derek responded.

"Can you imagine living with a secret for so long?" Casey broke free from Derek and sat down next to Sam's headstone.

"It must've been hard." Derek said as Casey traced Sam's features with her fingertip. He watched silently as the tears fell from her eyes.

"I think about you all the time." Casey whispered.

"Me too." Derek said without thinking and catching Casey off-guard.

"What?" She turned and looked up at him.

Embarrassed, Derek realized that she had been talking to Sam.

"Sam." He said. "I think about Sam."

Casey turned back to the headstone. Her shoulders began to shake violently as she began crying harder. Derek fell to his knees behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm here." He whispered in her ear. An uncontrollable force washed over Derek and suddenly he kissed her cheek. Surprised, Casey looked up at him through teary eyes.

"Derek—why did you do that?" Her hand was pressed against her cheek where he had kissed her. She shifted out of his arms.

"I'm sorry, Casey. It was an impulse—one that I've been fighting for a long time now." He admitted as he sunk down into the grass.

"We cannot be having this conversation here." She said suddenly.

"Why, Casey? Sam gave me his consent before he died. He practically told me to." Derek explained defensively.

Casey stood up. "You are an insensitive jack-ass, Derek Venturi. Take me home now!" She stomped to the car and slammed the door after she jumped in the passenger's seat. Derek was right behind her, slamming his door too.

"I'm not going anywhere until we talk about this." He said.

"Talk about what, Derek? How you took the words of your dying best friend to use them for your own personal gain? At his gravesite nonetheless?"

Derek slammed his fists into the steering wheel. "I am so sorry, your highness. Excuse me for falling in love with you."

Casey's eyes went wide with surprise. Even Derek seemed surprised by his own words.

"_Love_? Derek you don't even know what love is." Casey reeled.

"I know that Sam loved us enough to want us to be together." He said.

"Derek, that's crazy." The disdain had left her voice now and she just sounded tired.

"Is it really that crazy, Casey? Sam and I fought over you. Remember the 'male code' incident? If you couldn't read between those lines, then _you're_ crazy. Sam saw it. He knew what was going on. So, yes, on his death bed he told me to watch after you—"

"So that's why you were so nice to me? Because Sam told you to?" Casey said, cutting him off.

"At first—yes." He glanced over at her. "But old feelings, that I buried when you and Sam first started dating, began resurfacing."

Casey was overwhelmed. "I would like to go home now."

Derek nodded and started the car. Neither of them said a word on the drive home.

When they reached the driveway, Casey said, "By the way, Angela wants to go to the Valentine's Dance with you tomorrow."

She hopped out of the car and slammed the door behind her.

.oO00Oo.

Derek stormed into the house—Casey had him all worked up and not in a good way.

"What's wrong, son?" George said, looking up from a news broadcast.

"You don't want to know." Derek said, heading straight for the kitchen to get a can of soda.

George glanced at his watch. "Did you guys get out of school early today?"

"Yeah. We sure did." Derek said, sitting down in his recliner. Even his dad knew better than to sit there.

"I didn't know you had an early dismissal day." George remarked.

"I took _that woman_," Derek pointed hastily upstairs, "To see Sam, okay?"

"You didn't have to skip school for that. You know Nora and I would've signed you out." George said.

"What's the fun in that?" Derek remarked and took a long drink of his soda.

"So why do you guys hate each other again?" George asked. "What did you do?"

"Why do you assume _I _did something?"

George stared at his son.

"What was it about Nora that made you fall in love with her, Dad? I mean, you are both complete opposites. You're messy, she's neat. She's into feminism, you're…not."

George nodded knowingly. "I see."

"Just answer the question." Derek said.

George thought for a minute and said, "I think that despite our differences, we still have many similarities. It's the similarities that bind us together and our differences keep things interesting."

"Dad, for the first time, I completely agree with you."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Derek smirked and stood up. "I think I'll leave you guessing on that."

"We _are _going to have to talk about this, Derek." George said. Derek was walking toward the front door and putting on his jacket.

"I'm going out." Derek said, avoiding his father's inquiries. "I'll be home before dinner."

.oO00Oo.

…  
_You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.  
__Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?  
_…

Casey sat at her desk finishing up a round of homework when there was a knock at her door. Looking up, she said, "Come in."

The door didn't open and no one made a sound.

Puzzled, Casey walked across her room and threw open her door. No one was on the other side. Casey was about to push the door shut when she noticed a box in the floor with a card on top.

'Casey—' The card read. 'It took twelve florists to find the right shade of pink. Come to the dance with me?.—D.V.'

Her vision blurred as she picked up the box that held the most exquisite corsage.

"We'll have to keep it in the refrigerator until tomorrow night so it doesn't wilt." Derek said from his doorway. "That is, if you'll go to the dance with me."

"What about Sam?" Casey asked. Her eyes began to well up with tears again. Not for Sam but for finally realizing what she's been fighting all along—that she was in love with Derek Venturi—her stepbrother—her best friend.

"Sam was my best friend, Casey, and your boyfriend. But some things come twice in a lifetime."

"Where'd you get that line?" She questioned him.

"I don't know!" He said frustratingly. "It just came to me or something. Are you going to go to the dance with me or not, woman?"

"Affirmative." Casey nodded.

"Couldn't you have just said yes?" Derek smiled. He hugged her, picking her up onto her feet.

Casey laughed, "Yes."

"I'm so glad you agreed because I rented a non-refundable tux."

"What if I had said no?" Casey asked.

"You wouldn't." He said nonchalantly. "'Cause you _looove_ me."

Casey swatted at him playfully.

.oO00Oo.

In the stairway, Nora and George listened in on the conversation.

"This is ridiculous." Nora whispered.

"I know it is." George said. "But what else did you expect? I mean, they're teenagers for crying out loud!"

"They're brother and sister." Nora said.

"No." George said firmly. "They are not."

"This changes everything." Nora said.

"So? We'll implement a few rules and chaperone them from now on." He said.

"Why, George?" Nora said.

"Because my son feels the same way about your daughter that I feel about you."

"Oh, George." Nora hugged her husband. "What will we tell the grandkids?"

…  
_How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?  
__Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?  
_…


	10. Stolen

Twice in a Lifetime

Chapter Ten

Nunda

/A.N./ Wow, so this is it. The **final** chapter. Thanks to all those who've kept reading and sending me encouraging messages! (You know who you are!)

For those of you who wanted your treat, you'll have to wait 'til the end. No cheating.

Disclaimer: I own the Life With Derek show. 'Tis true. And if you believe that you don't need to be on a website for fanfiction. :)

Lyrics are from, Dashboard Confessional's "Stolen"

.oO00Oo.

Waiting downstairs, Derek glanced nervously at his watch. What if she'd changed her mind? What if going to the Valentine's Dance with her step-brother was not her idea of a fun time? What was taking so long?

The doorbell rang and Derek jumped to get the door. It was Emily and Trevor. Emily was wearing a short gray and black gothic-inspired dress with hot pink trim. Her hair was pulled back with a few wispy curls hanging down in front. Derek was impressed—Trevor was bringing out the best in her.

"Where's Casey?" Emily asked.

Derek shrugged. "She's been locked in her room for hours now."

Emily immediately charged upstairs, leaving Derek to make small talk with Trevor. Trevor was wearing all black, of course, but at least he had on a tux. Even if his wallet chain still hung by his side.

"You rented the limo, right?" Derek asked.

"Yeah, man. It should be on the way."

Nora and George walked up the basement stairs and entered the living room. Nora was carrying a camera.

"Casey's not out yet?" Nora asked.

Derek shook his head, "I guess beauty takes time."

Nora frowned.

"Not that she's not beautiful before all that make-up stuff." Derek said quickly. "I mean, I've seen her at seven o'clock in the morning and I'm still willing to be seen with her in public."

"Derek, you're digging it deeper." George said.

"Dude." Trevor shook his head.

"Maybe I should go up there." Nora said with a furrowed brow.

"Emily's up there now." Derek said. "If she can't get her to come down then I'll just leave without her."

.oO00Oo.

"Casey, you look perfect." Emily said for the fifth time since she barged through Casey's bedroom door.

Casey swiped a shimmery eyeshadow over her eyelids and stepped back from the mirror.

"What are the kids at J.S. Thompson High going to think when I walk into the dance with my step-brother?" Casey inquired.

"That it's about time." Emily said. "The very few girls that Derek hasn't dated yet will be pissed because they still think they have a shot."

"He has dated a lot of girls, hasn't he?" Casey sat down on her bed.

Emily sat next to her and grabbed her hand.

"I've known Derek for a long time. " Emily said. "And I've had a crush on him for just as long. But I can tell you, I have never seen him look at another girl the way he looks at you."

"What do you mean?" Casey asked with a smile on her lips.

"The way Trevor looks at me. It's a mixture of happiness and being scared." She replied.

"Scared?" Casey echoed.

"Yeah, scared that he could lose you. That another guy could sweep in and steal you away. That he is not worthy of your affections." Emily stood up and held her hand out to Casey, "Are you ready to go?"

Casey took a deep breath. "I guess so."

She took Emily's hand and they walked downstairs together.

"Casey looks like a princess!" Marti said, bouncing in the room. Lizzie, who'd been entertaining Marti with a round of Go Fish with Edwin, raced in to wrangle the rambunctious six year old back into the dining room. Nora had requested that all the younger children let the older ones have some space.

Nora snapped photos while Derek stood in a stunned silence. The socially awkward girl that he'd once called Klutzilla stood before him as a beautiful woman. The light pink dress fell to her knees in an A-line skirt.

"You're gorgeous." Derek whispered so only Casey could hear as he slipped on the corsage on her wrist.

"You're not too bad yourself." She whispered back. She'd almost expected him to be wearing a tuxedo T-shirt. Even though his hair looked like he'd just rolled out of bed, in that sexy bed-head way, he was wearing a nice black tuxedo with a black vest underneath. The vest had tiny pink dots on it that matched Casey's dress and his tie, of course, was the same shade of pink.

Casey was very impressed with his color-matching abilities.

"Let's get a few pictures of the couples together." Nora said.

The four teens posed for an impromptu photo session.

Outside, a horn honked signaling the arrival of the limo.

"Time to go!" Derek yelled.

The teenagers all piled outside.

"A limo!" Both Emily and Casey squealed.

Derek and Trevor high-fived and piled into the limo after the girls.

Derek opened a bottle of sparkling white grape juice and poured four champagne glasses.

"To the best night ever." Emily toasted. They all clinked their glasses and drank the light, fizzy liquid.

…  
_And from the ballroom floor we are in celebration  
__One good stretch before our hibernation  
__Our dreams assured and we all, will sleep well, sleep well  
_…

Derek rode with his arm around Casey all the way to the school.

"Are you ready for this?" He whispered to Casey as they pulled up to the gymnasium.

"Absolutely." Casey said.

Derek and Casey fell behind Trevor and Emily as they walked into the gymnasium. Derek still had his arm tightly around Casey's waist.

They were stunned at the transformation of their gymnasium. The dance committee had hung tiny white lights everywhere and filled pink, white, and red balloons in little clusters all over the gym.

Immediately upon entering, Derek was asked to dance.

"No thanks." He said, grabbing Casey's hand. "I've got a dance partner."

Casey watched as the girl's jaw hit the floor. Casey smiled at her apologetically before Derek dragged her over to his circle of friends.

Casey listened in boredom as they talked about hockey terms that Casey didn't understand. Casey held onto Derek and listened as Derek laughed with his friends. So this is what it was like in Derek's world. This is what it was like at the top. The other girlfriends eyed Casey with envy.

She glanced across the room for Emily. She found her on the dance floor, cuddled up to Trevor.

"Let's dance." Casey whispered in Derek's ear. Derek nodded and slapped a few high-fives and secret handshakes.

"I'm not really good at dancing." Derek said once they got out of earshot from his friends.

"Don't worry about it." Casey said. "Follow my lead."

…  
_I watch you spin around in the highest heels  
__You are the best one, of the best ones  
__We all look like we feel  
_…

Casey wrapped her arms around Derek's neck and instructed him to wrap his arms around her waist.

"You smell nice." Casey said as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You smell like strawberries." Derek replied.

Casey laughed, "That's my shampoo."

"I know." Derek said.

"Is there anything you don't know about me?" Casey demanded in a playful tone.

"Mmmm…nope." Derek shook his head. "See that's the advantage of living with your girlfriend. You know all her secrets."

"First of all, you don't know all of my secrets." Casey said with a twirl. "And secondly, since when did I become your girlfriend?"

"Since right now." Derek said, lightly kissing Casey's perfect mouth.

Casey pulled back and looked into Derek's dark brown eyes. She was stunned at the amount of electricity that raced through that one kiss.

"Come on," Derek said pleadingly. "Let's make them a little more jealous."

Casey stopped moving and leaned into Derek for another kiss. This time it was deeper as Casey ran her hands through the back of his hair.

"Ahem" They heard behind them. They unlocked lips and looked up. The principal was standing with his hands behind his back.

"You know the rules, Venturi." He said. "No making out on the dance floor."

"Or what?" Derek challenged him.

"Detention for a week." Principal Harrison raised his eyebrows.

"I'll take it." Derek said as he pulled Casey in for another kiss. Her eyes went wide as she reluctantly pushed him off of her.

"I can't get detention." She hissed.

Principal Harrison walked away, shaking his head. The kid had guts; he had to give him that. He only wished he could've been a little more like him in high school.

"Let's walk outside for a minute." Derek said, lacing his fingers with Casey's.

They walked out to a gazebo in the picnic area that also was adorned with the white twinkle lights. It was dark outside so the lights blended in with the stars in the sky. It was very beautiful and romantic in Casey's opinion.

"How do I know you're not going to cheat on me?" Casey said, voicing the concerns weighing on her mind.

"Casey," Derek said. "You have seen me go on multiple dates but you have never seen me have multiple girlfriends."

Derek stood behind her and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"Okay," Casey said. "Keep talking."

He rubbed his hands up and down her bare arms sending chills down her spine.

"Somehow, I knew this was going to come up." Derek said. "So I got this."

Casey turned around, still fully in his grasp, and faced him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

"You know me, Case—every bad thing and every good thing." He fumbled with the box. "Hopefully by now the good outweighs the bad."

Casey nodded, feeling tears form in her eyes.

He opened the box. Inside was a plain, silver band.

"Try it on." Derek said. It fit perfectly on Casey's second finger. "There's an inscription."

Casey slipped the ring off and read the inscription.

_Since Day One_

"What does that mean?" Casey inquired.

"I have been in love you since day one." Derek said. "I was too stupid to actually admit it. Instead, I fought my best friend for you, threatened to kill or maim anyone else who came near you, and pretty much tortured you just so I could get a reaction from you."

She slipped the ring back over her finger, and Derek twisted it around until she could see the inscription on the top. _Derek & Casey. _Casey smiled at him.

"'Derek and Casey' has a nice ring to it, huh?" She said. They were still inches away from each other.

"The ring was your dad's wedding ring." Derek said. "Your mom gave it to me and I had it resized and inscribed."

Casey looked up him in surprise, "Derek…that is so sweet."

"I just wanted you to know how serious I am about us." He responded.

Casey pulled him into another kiss—her tongue searched his mouth longingly.

"I love you, Casey." Derek said after they pulled apart. "I always have."

"I love you too." She replied.

"We better get back inside before Emily sends out a search party." He said, nodding towards the gymnasium.

"Or your legion of bimbos." Casey joked.

"Trust me, you have your own legion. They've all just been threatened by me to leave you alone." He replied, taking her hand in his and walking across the lawn to the gym.

"I have a legion?" Casey said in mock-excitement. "Of male-bimbos?"

Derek laughed, "Welcome to the top, girl. You're with me now."

"Egotistical, much?" Casey chided.

Derek pushed the double doors open and held the door for Casey.

"Why not? I'm the captain of the team, I have a legion of bimbos, and now I have the best damn girl at J.S. Thompson High." He said, grabbing her hand again as they made their way through the crowd to find Emily and Trevor.

"There you are!" Emily hugged her friend. "I was about to send out a search party."

Casey and Derek exchanged glances and busted out laughing.

"What?" Emily said, puzzled. "Did I miss something?"

Which just made them laugh even more.

Derek wrapped his arms around Casey and said, "Follow my lead."

He led her out on the dance floor.

"I thought you couldn't dance?" Casey asked him.

"I had a good teacher." He replied as they danced to the catchy song. Derek mouthed the words to Casey.

…  
_You have stolen  
__You have stolen  
__You have stolen my heart  
_…

THE END!!!!!

Review and let me know what you guys think! I love you all!!

/A.N.2/ Sorry to get all mushy on you guys, but that's where this story has been heading all along. ;) So, here's your special treat! I've got to figure a way that FF net will let me put this…

www(dot)youtube(dot)com(forward slash) watch?v(equals)rEabCylOm0I

Just ya know, take out the parenthesis and put the actual dot lol.

I also have three (yes **three**) very different chapter fics on the way, so keep your eyes open for them soon!


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